N.J. getting short changed

New Jersey's unemployment rate dipped in September by 0.1 percent. The rate had crested at 9.9 percent in August and slid back slightly to 9.8 percent last month.

What does that mean, in real terms? If another number can add clarity, New Jersey officially had 6,772 fewer unemployed workers in September.

For them, it probably was a good month if they all found jobs. Certainly it is good whenever the unemployment rate goes down, even slightly.

However, for the 448,387 New Jerseyans who remained unemployed, September wasn't such a good month. And 2012, like 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 before it, has been another lousy year for far too many among the Garden State's army of unemployed.

That group numbers well over half a million because official unemployment numbers do not include those out-of-work residents who've become so frustrated and stymied in their hunt for a job that they've stopped looking.

It is truly vexing that there are no clear solutions and that New Jersey's unemployment rate remains so much higher than the national average (7.8 percent) and higher than the rate in neighboring states such as Pennsylvania (8.2 percent) and Delaware (6.8 percent).

In this cantankerous election season, our editorial board has heard from the incumbent congressmen and their challengers in the four congressional districts that cover at least portions of the Jersey Shore.

Asked to explain why New Jersey's unemployment is so much higher than most other states, and what they intend to do to remedy this problem, none have fielded exceedingly concrete or confidence-inspiring answers. They talk of cutting regulations, of locking in tax breaks and credits so businesses can plan ahead and hire more workers and of putting more money back in the pockets of middle-class Americans so they can spend more - a trickle-up means of hopefully creating jobs.

One thing we continue to believe could help would be if New Jersey came even close to getting back from Washington the same amount of money taxpayers here send to the IRS.

New Jersey ranked dead last among the states in what it gets back in federal spending - 61 cents - for every dollar residents here pay in federal taxes, the last time the Tax Foundation culled the data in 2005.

What if our two senators and soon-to-be 12 House members fought hard, as one unified team, and did something more to change that?

If states such as Mississippi and New Mexico can see a return of $2 for every $1 they send to Washington or, closer to home, Pennsylvania can get $1.07, why can't New Jersey get closer to its fair share to tackle sky-high unemployment here?

This is an issue that should unite our delegation in Washington. The return of federal dollars to our state is not a matter of red or blue. The color that matters here is green.

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N.J. getting short changed

New Jersey's unemployment rate dipped in September by 0.1 percent. The rate had crested at 9.9 percent in August and slid back slightly to 9.8 percent last month.

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